Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

CENTERS OF DISTINCTION

Santa Clara University’s Centers of Distinction serve as major points of interaction between the University and society. Each center focuses on a theme that is central to its distinctive mission as a Jesuit university offering “an educational environment that integrates rigorous inquiry and scholarship, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society, and a commitment to fashioning a more humane and just world.” Each center engages faculty and students from different disciplines, as well as experts and leaders from the community.

The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education

Brought about by the merger of the Bannan Center for Jesuit Education and the Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Center for Community-Based Learning in 2005, the Ignatian Center is dedicated to preserve and extend the unique mission and identity of Santa Clara University. As one of three Centers of Distinction at the University, the Ignatian Center touches the lives of students, faculty and staff and links the University with its important stakeholders through partnerships, scholarship, and service.

Bannan Institute for Jesuit Educational Mission

Originally established in 1982, the center was named in 1996 as one of four Centers of Distinction which defined SCU’s leadership in higher education. The Bannan Institute sponsors grants, lectures, publications, retreats, and conferences, and brings religious scholars to the University to engage in educational activities.

Center for Science, Technology, and Society

Established in 1997, the Center for Science, Technology, and Society seeks to illuminate the dynamic interplay of science and technology with culture and society. One of its goals is to help ensure that individuals, social and business institutions, and government use science and technology in ways that will improve the quality of our lives. With strong partnerships in Silicon Valley, the center conducts applied research, sponsors lectures and conferences, publishes a magazine, STS Nexus, and offers an interdisciplinary minor.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Santa Clara University established the Center for Applied Ethics in 1986 and renamed it the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics in 1995. The Ethics Center is one of the preeminent centers for research and dialogue on ethical issues in critical areas of American life. The center works with faculty, staff, students, community leaders, and the public to address ethical issues more effectively in teaching, research, and action. The center’s focus areas are business, health care and biotechnology, character education, government, global leadership, technology, and emerging issues in ethics.